


Little Lion Man

by skyshines



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Caleb’s anxious 24/7, Character Study, Found Family, I forgot to talk about Frumpkin and I feel so bad, Tusk Love, the Mighty Nein as family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-06 00:06:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16377647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skyshines/pseuds/skyshines
Summary: Caleb Widogast is not a particularly brave man.





	Little Lion Man

**Author's Note:**

> This is a brief character study of Caleb Widogast that I wrote for a class, sorry it’s so short! It’s my first fic for Critical Role, too, so congrats to me!! Enjoy uwu

Caleb Widogast is not a particularly brave man.

He tends to stay towards the rear of the pack, tends to stay a safe distance from conflicts.

  
Maybe at one point he was courageous- a strapping young farm boy with a heart of gold and a mind that was just as valuable in the eyes of his hometown. Maybe at one point he’d been devoid of the fears he has now, but that was in the past, and both in the heat of battle and out of it, his head swims with anxieties he just can’t seem to shake.

  
Every time Caleb looks at a crowd, his eyes search every figure for familiar traits. Without his consent, his subconscious begins looking for her pale curls, his scruffy beard, the faces that signify both his upbringing and his downfall. In cities and towns far beyond Trent’s realm of power, Caleb is scared of being found.

  
As the days get shorter and a light to read by becomes necessary earlier in the night, he avoids candles and stays true to his dancing lights. He avoids looking into the hearths in taverns they visit, sits near the campfire with caution and tries not to spend too long looking at the rising embers.

  
He is a man wracked with anxiety about the past and fears for the future. He is intimately aware that danger lurks around every corner. Caleb Widogast is not a particularly brave man, but there are moments when he feels like he could be.

  
When he sees Mollymauk and Yasha curled together in the soft glow of the campfire, when he watches Fjord attempting to teach Beau manners, when he listens to Jester read Tusk Love aloud as Nott drifts off against her side. It’s the moments in the quiet of the night, when everyone is warm and content and safe, that tug on his heartstrings.

It’s the moments when the fighting stops in which Caleb can allow himself to take a deep breath, in which the anxieties in his head quiet, if only for a moment. In these moments, Caleb feels brave.

  
Part of his mind tells him not to get used to this, that he’s being lulled into a false sense of security. These people can clearly only lead to problems for him in the long run.

  
He looks back at the Mighty Nein.

  
These people have saved his life. They’ve taken in him and Nott despite their pasts and they’ve cared for him. He’s slowly realizing that he cares for them as well.

  
Part of Caleb wants to run.

  
Caleb tells that part of himself to fuck off.

**Author's Note:**

> I like to think that I’m a better writer than I was in my Homestuck days. Please leave comments, Kudos, anything to feed my starving soul. I love you and have a good day.


End file.
